London Fashion Week Moves Venue Again

London Fashion Week, the neglected sibling of the international fashion world, is moving venues again. This time, however, the move is to its original venue at the Natural History Museum, instead of in King's Road, Chelsea, or faraway Battersea. The British Fashion Council have secured a week between Milan and Paris fashion weeks in September, and will have one catwalk tent and one double-decker tent to house the exhibition.

As was reported by Drapers, BFC chairman Stuart Rose is said to be in discussions with Milan and Paris fashion week organisers to shorten or shift their weeks, so that LFW would have a chance to compete internationally, without overlapping with major shows in other countries.

The change in dates would allow international buyers and press to attend without having to come from New York, meaning they would already be in Europe. This would keep down costs and encourage people to attend, rather than give London the skip due to a compromise in dates. It is generally understood, however, that both Milan and Paris are very protective of their showing dates, and in 2002 neither was prepared to change the schedule to help the overlap with New York on the anniversary of September 11th. New York Fashion Week takes place from 9-16 September, LFW from 18-22 September, Milan Fashion Week is 24 September to 2nd October, and Paris is from 2-11 October.